A Little Sake Never Killed Nobody
by newanon16
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her partner, Natsu Dragneel, was drunk. Stupid drunk. And, you know what they say: drunk words are the thoughts of a sober mind. A NaLu one-shot; GrUvia, if you squint. (By the way, not sure who's drawing this is, otherwise I'd give credit.)
1. AKA Lucy Can't Get A Break

_A Little Sake Never Killed Nobody_

 _A NaLu Fanfiction_

 _ **Author's Note/Disclaimer:**_ _This fic is based off of a Not Always Right post titled_ _Drunk On Love_ _. I'm not sure this idea has been done a lot before, but I found the little exchange hilarious and adorable and had to base a one-shot off of it. This is my first fanfic, so any constructive criticism is welcome. I also apologize if they seem too OOC. The characters in this fanfiction belong to the marvelous Hiro Trollshima. Had I owned them, most of my many ships would be canon by now._

Lucy Heartfilia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Just to make sure she wasn't dreaming, she closed her eyes and quickly pinched her forearm. When she opened them, nothing had changed, meaning this was reality. The guild hall was a wreck, which was normal. Everyone was either drinking or picking themselves up after the daily all-out guild brawl, which was also normal. But that wasn't why she stopped short in the entrance to the guild.

Her partner, Natsu Dragneel, was drunk. Stupid drunk. He was leaning precariously against his hand, grinning widely at nothing, half-way through what was going to be his last mug of fire whiskey (if she had anything to say about it). Lucy looked around the guild hall, wondering who it was that allowed him full access to the alcohol, eyes narrowing on a particular white-haired barmaid and blue Exceed separately. They seemed the most likely suspects, what with Mira's matchmaking schemes and Happy's penchant for playing pranks on her and making her life even more difficult.

Lucy sighed and made her way to the fire mage, fully intent on taking the mug away from him and cutting him off. She marched up to his table, arms crossed in an attempt to put herself in charge. Natsu certainly was not in good condition to be, that was for sure. He lifted his head and sniffed lightly before turning towards her and smiling wider.

"Hey, Luce," he slurred, slinging one tanned arm around her waist and putting her off balance. It certainly was not the cause of the pink blush across her face. "You missed one helluva fight. I beat the shit out of Ice Princess." His grin turned devilish at that. Lucy put her head in her hand, but jumped when she heard Gray shout from across the guild hall.

"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, ASH FOR BRAINS! I WON THAT DAMN FIGHT AND YOU KNOW IT!" A half-naked Gray stood unsteadily on his feet, his face red with alcohol consumption. He nearly fell over before Juvia appeared, as she tended to do, and held him up. He hastily turned to her, gripping her shoulders tightly. "You saw me, right, Juvia? I totally beat that punk's ass, right?" Juvia couldn't very much answer him as she was too busy sighing in pleasure that her shirtless, beloved Gray-sama had embraced her.

"You wanna go at it again, ya icy bastard?" Natsu slurred, getting to his feet. Well, Lucy had to help him, seeing as he couldn't stand steadily on his own. It was also a measure to hold him back as neither he nor Gray were in a condition to fight.

Natsu squirmed in her hold a bit, but surprisingly decided to settle back in his chair instead, bringing Lucy with him. She felt a blush creeping up her neck that had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she was sitting in his lap with his arms around her waist. It also had nothing to do with the fact that he was currently nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, making himself comfortable. Some guild members stared in shock, while others (like Cana) laughed uproariously at their position. Lucy swore she saw some of them exchanging jewel amongst each other.

Lucy tried to keep her voice from shaking when she asked. "Natsu?" He hummed into her skin, causing shocks of electricity to shiver up her spine. Well, that didn't help at all. Ignoring the heat of her cheeks, she pressed on further. "Are you drunk?" She felt him laugh, a rumble against her back that did nothing to ease the flush of her face.

"Silly Luce," he giggled. Lucy couldn't believe it: Natsu _giggled._ Like a _child_. "I'm only a little drunk, not _drunk_ drunk, ya know?" Lucy sighed again. Of course he wasn't going to admit he was totally hammered.

"Hey, ya damn pyro! I ain't finished with you yet!" Now lacking his pants, Gray began advancing on them with Juvia wrapped around his middle, intent on starting another fight with Natsu. Well, Lucy wasn't about to let that happen. She certainly didn't want to get caught up in another one of their stupid fights. She had to get out of the guild. She turned her head to see that Natsu was still very interested in her neck, skimming his nose across her skin. Her face heated, coming to the conclusion that, if she was leaving, Natsu was more than likely coming with her.

"Hey, Natsu," she poked one of his arms, gaining his attention in the form of another hum. "You want to go back to my place?" She grimaced at her own choice of words, wishing she could have asked the question differently. But Gray wasn't exactly giving her enough time as he kept staggering closer, Juvia's weight halting his progress ever so slightly.

Natsu, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic she had asked and nodded eagerly. Lucy sighed in relief, removing herself from his lap. However, when she tried prying his arms loose from her waist, he pouted at her, making her throw her hands up in frustration. And so, they walked out of the guild. Well, walked is a general term: he stumbled and leaned into her, while she did her best not to fall over from his weight.

She couldn't reach her apartment soon enough. She could practically hear her bath calling her name. But there was a slight problem: Natsu was still wrapped around her waist and didn't seem to intend on letting go.

"Natsu," Lucy exhaled tiredly, "I need to take a bath. Why don't you go lay down? I'll be back out in a bit." She felt his arms slowly unwind from her midsection, still reluctant to let her go.

"Okay, Luce," he mumbled drunkenly, heading in the direction of her bed. She heaved a sigh of exasperation, berating herself for not specifying her couch as where he should lay down. A smile crept onto her face anyway. She supposed it was routine for him to sleep in her bed now. And it really wasn't a problem for her, since he made such a lovely space heater. _Or,_ she thought, face quickly reddening, _maybe she didn't mind because she could curl into him like she wanted under the guise of deep sleep, no questions asked._

Shaking her head, she started toward the bathroom, intent on soaking until he passed out. That is, until Natsu followed her into her tiny bathroom, too close for her comfort. He gave her a tipsy smile before wrapping his arms around her shoulders and replacing his nose in her neck. She stammered as she attempted to push him off of her.

"N-Natsu, get off! I need to bathe," she reasoned, her face reddening under his attention.

"But Luuucyyy," he whined, his lips brushing her neck, "You smell soooo gooood." He continued nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck to prove his point. Lucy's face began to rival his hair as she kept attempting to push him off. He kept speaking. "I'm soooo lucky Lucy smells soooo gooood. Lucky Lucy, lucky Lucy, lucky Lucy." He trailed off, giggling like a child again before sighing and resting his face in one spot on her neck.

Lucy wasn't sure she could take any more of this. "N-N-Natsu, bed. Now. I need a bath and you need to go lay down." He seemed to ignore her and settled for pushing her back against the bathroom wall. Now she was trapped and he was obviously not too keen on letting her go.

"But Lucy smells good," he pouted, clutching onto her tighter. He backed up a bit so he could see her better and she felt him stagger backwards. She pulled a bit to keep from falling on him. "Jus' forget your bath. I'm sleepy and I want you with me." He said it with the seriousness and demeanor of a bratty five-year-old, but that didn't stop her from thinking very non-"just friendly" thoughts about her partner. Did he have to say things like that so casually all the time?

She felt steam emanating from her head as she gave one final push, effectively knocking him off of her. "J-jus-just wait in the bed, please. I won't take long, I promise." Natsu stumbled back a bit before giving her a look and sulking back to her bed. As soon as he left the doorframe, she shut the door, breathing heavily as she turned the lock. Who knew when the drunken idiot would pop in after deciding she was taking too long for his liking? It seemed soaking in the tub until he was peacefully asleep was no longer an option. She gazed longingly at her bath salts, but opted for a quick shower instead.

After changing into her standard t-shirt and cotton shorts, she unlocked the bathroom door and strolled into her room, drying her hair idly with a towel. Placing it on the back of her desk chair, she saw Natsu grumpily clutching her pillow, looking anywhere but at her. She rolled her eyes and smiled gently, prepared for the childish outburst she knew was coming.

"You took too long," he grouched, his words muffled by the pillow. Of course that would be the first thing he said. Still turned away from her, he pointed petulantly to the spot next to him on the bed, indicating she sit there. She hesitated until he finally looked up and pinned her with those dark eyes. Well, that look certainly wasn't fair. The blonde shook her head, making him release her pillow to pull her into him. She let out a yelp before landing on top of him and releasing a breath of air. He seemed pleased, however, now that she was back in his arms and his face was back in her neck, the largest source of her scent.

"Y'know, Luce," he slurred, pausing to hiccup, "Ya always smell so nice, especially when you don't put on that, whatchacallit, perfume stuff." He smiled into her throat, pleased that he had gotten out a full sentence without screwing it up.

Meanwhile, poor Lucy was struggling to find a comfortable position as she had literally just been thrown onto his lap without any sort of warning. Eventually, she gave up and settled for placing her legs over one side of his legs and angling herself as far away as she could manage from his invasive nuzzling. Her entire body froze when she felt something cold and slimy touch her neck not long after. She shrieked and smacked Natsu across the face, scrubbing her neck vigorously.

"NATSU, WHAT THE HELL?" Her face broke the redness scale while her scream broke the sound barrier. To be fair, a pink-haired drunk just licked her neck. Said drunk was upset with the slap and lack of contact, reaching for Lucy as she crab-walked away, one hand still on her violated neck. Really, the girl couldn't get a break.

"I wus jus' wond'rin' if Lucy tasted as good as she smelled. And you do, so get back here." The childish way he ordered her did nothing to change how the words fell on her ears. It was like something out of the torrid novels she secretly loved to read, except the dashing male opposite her blushing heroine was a drunken five-year-old in a young man's body. Mavis, this wasn't fair.

Lucy wasn't sure how long she stayed frozen, but Natsu soon hovered over her, his eyes glazing over as if he were in a trance. "Why you gotta be so difficult?" He frowned down at her, brows furrowing as if he were truly trying to figure out the answer to his own question. Lucy tried backing further away, but ended up against the side of her couch, Natsu caging her in with his arms on either side. _Stuck between a rock and a hard place_ , she thought ruefully.

"Now," Natsu grinned boyishly and put a finger up in her face, swaying slightly as he was off balance, "you aren't gunna move." Putting his hand back down, he inched his face closer to Lucy's neck, wrapping his arms around her to make sure she didn't try to run again


	2. Bonus Chapter

_**Author's Note/Disclaimer:**_ _Whew! This was a beast of a chapter but, after all this time, I have completed a bonus chapter by popular demand! To be honest, I was thoroughly surprised (and pleased, of course!) that everyone liked it so much! I'm really thankful to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story because you all motivated me to finish this bonus chapter. Anyway, enough of my rambling. I hope you all enjoy and that it satisfies your cravings for more NaLu. I apologize if they seem too OOC. The characters in this fanfiction belong to the marvelous Hiro Trollshima. Had I owned them, most of my many ships would be canon by now._

The next morning, Natsu woke up not knowing where he was. Feeling disoriented, he sat up and blinked in the sunlight, the start of a killer hangover pounding behind his eyes. Wincing, he went to put a hand on his head, but found it was weighed down. Curious, the dragonslayer looked down at his trapped hand, instead finding Lucy asleep on top of it. He rose his head and looked around again, noticing they were on her bedroom floor. But, why? She had a perfectly good bed right over there! And where was Happy?

Natsu's attention was drawn to Lucy when she muttered quietly, turning just in time to see a small smile spread across her face. Well, that's cute. But he still needed to figure out why they were on the floor.

A flash of memory showed him sticking his face in Lucy's neck. His face immediately matched his hair as more and more broken images of him repeating the action began flooding his mind. When in hell had he done that? More memories showed him- _oh, shit._ He had _licked_ her? Why the hell had he done that? Frantically, he looked back down at Lucy, breathing a sigh of relief that her clothes were still on, despite being a bit wrinkled from sleeping on the floor.

Taking deep breaths, he tried calming his nerves. Obviously, he had overstepped the line last night. Now, don't get confused: he is a little pleased that imbibing in the alcohol had given him the courage he so desperately needed, but he would have liked to have been sober for it.

Lucy shifted and mumbled in her sleep again, causing his attention to shift. What if she didn't want to be friends anymore? No, wait, that wouldn't make sense if she hadn't kicked him out yet. Still, the intrusive thought hurt, more than any physical attack could have.

Perhaps sensing his inner turmoil, the stellar spirit mage woke, blinking at the sunlight in much the same way he had. After looking around a bit, she turned her head to Natsu and gave a sunny grin. He felt his heart stop, then beat double-time as his face heated. As she sat up, Natsu removed his hand from under her, placing it in his lap and looking pointedly at the floor, waiting for the inevitable.

"Morning, Natsu," she chirped, standing to stretch out the kinks that came with sleeping on the floor. He mumbled a halfhearted "morning" as he watched her stretch with interest, fascinated by how her back arched when she stood on her tiptoes and reached upwards, then by the curve of her backside when she reached for her toes. He gulped, hoping she wouldn't turn and scold him for being a pervert as he watched. It was her fault, anyway. Did she have to stretch in front of him like that? Did she even know what she was doing to him?

Standing slowly, she rolled her shoulders back and stretched out her arms to either side. She sighed in relief, then turned to face him, causing the dragonslayer to rear back slightly, face still bright red. Instead of kicking him, she smiled and happily informed him she was going to go take a shower, walking in the direction of the bathroom.

At this point, Natsu was beyond confused. She had yet to kick him out of her apartment (not that he was complaining), she was beaming at him as if nothing happened (while something very obviously did), and, for the love of Mavis, they woke up on the floor! She could have at least yelled at him, if for not being an outright pervert, then for being in her apartment like she usually did. Unless…unless Lucy had also been drunk? Maybe she didn't remember anything! That made so much more sense! He smiled to himself, happy none of his actions had been remembered. There was nothing he wanted more than to tell her how he felt about her, of course, but he wanted to make it perfect, and not some drunken slur.

After determining what he felt was the obvious answer, he stood and made his way to her bed, fully intent on getting comfortable after a night on the floor. Just as he was about to lay down, Lucy walked out of the bathroom – in nothing but a fluffy, white towel. Holy _shit_ , was she trying to kill him? Her pretty face was drawn downwards in a frown as she meandered to her dresser, seemingly confused as to why she hadn't brought her clothes into the bathroom as she usually did. He sure as hell wasn't complaining. Keeping up his oblivious friend act, however, was tough when said friend was beautiful, scantily clad in nothing but a towel, and smelled absolutely amazing. There was nothing he wanted more than to-

"Hey, Natsu." Lucy snapped her fingers in his face, causing him to look down at her. He gulped again, watching the excess water droplets trail down her neck to her chest before disappearing into her towel, before looking back up at her concerned face. She placed a hand on his forehead, then pushed him backwards onto her mattress. "You aren't looking too good. You had a lot to drink, so you should probably lay down. I'll get you a glass of water when I'm dressed, okay?" She smiled gently at him, pressing onto his shoulder until he laid back onto her bed.

Once she turned away, he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. It had to be criminal to look as good as she did in nothing but a towel. The fact that he knew _damn well_ what was under that towel did not help matters. As soon as she picked out her clothes, she passed him on her way back to the bathroom to change, creating another wave of her scent mixed with whatever soap she used. He could have tried to describe it, but it wouldn't do Lucy justice. It was entirely unique to her.

Once she had closed the bathroom door, the hangover decided to make itself known again, pounding away at his head. He laid on his back with an arm over his face, blocking out the light. Exactly how much had he had to drink last night? All he remembered was Mira's seemingly-innocent smile as she poured him mug after mug of his favorite fire whiskey, then he woke up in Lucy's apartment, on her floor with her in his arms. Besides the scant memories of him assaulting Lucy's neck, he couldn't remember anything else.

Speaking of the stellar mage, she practically skipped out of her bathroom to her kitchen – in clothes as skimpy as her towel. But he didn't mind in the slightest. He did wonder what she was so cheery about, though…

"Here you are, Natsu. Drink up!" She proffered him a full glass of water, making him realize just how thirsty he actually was. He croaked out a "thank you" and downed the glass, feeling marginally better. Holding it out to her for more, she simply smiled and sauntered back to the kitchen. He watched her go, especially interested in the way her skirt swung back and forth as she walked. It never really was fair that she wore the things.

Breaking him from his thoughts, she came back out with another glass of water. He downed that one as well, completely ridding himself of that dry mouth feeling. She was staring at him and smiling, which he decided was weird, and called her on it. "Why are you being so weird today, Luce?" For once, she wasn't offended and shook her head at him, still with that grin on her face.

"Do you remember anything from last night, Natsu?" Oh, shit. Here it comes. She really _was_ going to kick him out. She was going to lull him into a false sense of security, then dropkick him out of her bedroom window. He really didn't want to die today, so he decided to go the "loveable idiot" route.

Scratching his head idly, he attempted to look confused. "Ah, no, I don't. Why do you ask?" Her face fell for a moment, before she brought the smile back; however, it was a shy smile, as if she were embarrassed for asking. He sure as hell was embarrassed. No one just assaults their partner when they're drunk. That's just wrong on so many levels, even if said partner was beautiful and kind and smelled nice and-

"You…don't remember…maybe, saying anything?" She glanced up at him through her lashes, making his heart stop again. How the hell did she do that? Wait, he said something to her? Shit, shit, shit, what did he _say_?

"Say something? Like what? About Gray? Everyone knows he's a bastard, so if that's all it was, then that's not new." He chuckled nervously, trying not to panic about what he might have said while also trying to be himself. It was proving difficult.

Her smile was looking more like a frown now, as she shook her head adamantly. "No, well, I mean, yes, you called him a bastard. But, you said something else…" She trailed off before blushing and quietly adding, "About me", as if he wouldn't be able to hear her. Well, now he was concerned. What did he…? Oh, no.

"Ah, no," the nervous laughter became more apparent as he scrambled for something – anything, but the obvious – that he could have said. "Was it about how awesome a partner you are? Or how nice you are to me?" He watched as that tiny smile came back with a blush as red as Erza's hair.

"Well, kind of," she supplied, making him worry further. What the _fuck_ had he said?! "You really don't know what you said?" She stared suspiciously at him, making him realize he had spoken the question aloud.

Hanging his head, he admitted he didn't know, then braced for impact. Instead, he heard a sigh and nervous shuffling. Looking at her, he saw her face was still beet red as she stared at her lap, suddenly looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

"Well, uh," she stuttered out, "you, kinda, sorta, told me that, uh, you, um…" She trailed off again, obviously not wanting to finish the sentence. No, he couldn't have. She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush of words. "You told me you loved me," she blurted, shutting her eyes as if waiting for impact as he had done.

"WHAT?" He jumped off the bed in shock. He had done the one thing he shouldn't have done drunk. Words could not have expressed how angry at himself he was in that moment. As he paced, muttering obscenities to himself and tugging at his hair, he became aware of a deathly aura coming from where he had left Lucy. Turning, he saw her livid with anger. Oh, no, she misunderstood.

"Oh, that's fine. I understand." She laughed caustically, standing and brushing down her skirt. He saw the way her hands shook and immediately knew she was covering up the fact that she had been hurt. So, wait, she had been _happy_ he said it? Crossing her arms, she continued her tirade. "How could you, Natsu friggin' Dragneel, great Salamander of Fairy Tail, like or, Mavis forbid, _love_ some weak, airheaded mage like me, right? I mean, who am I kidding? You could have anyone you wanted. Why on Earthland would you want your mission partner and te-"

"Stop it," he growled, cutting her off. He hated it when she thought she was weak. It pained him that she saw herself like that when she did so much for their team and the guild. There was a reason he wanted her on the team in the first place, and it had nothing to do with her looks. Staring her in the eye, he walked forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't _ever_ put yourself down. Just because you can't fight like Erza doesn't mean you aren't strong. There are other ways people can be strong and, if you asked me, I'd say you're pretty awesome, and could kick Erza's butt any day." She had lost her angry expression in favor of forming her mouth in a small 'O' of surprise.

Meanwhile, in Fairy Hills, Erza felt the sudden urge to pummel Natsu the next time she saw him.

Ignoring the slight deathly chill that slithered down his spine, Natsu continued his impromptu confession. He figured it was now or never, considering he had technically already told her. Might as well finish what he had drunkenly started.

He sighed, dropping his head before slowly moving his hands down her arms to hug the shell-shocked blonde. Placing his head on her shoulder, he pulled her closer, selfishly enveloping himself in her scent to give him that last push forward to do this right. Sure, he had been planning on taking her to the park under that huge sakura tree to make the whole thing even more romantic since Lucy liked that sort of thing, but alcohol and his own stupidity kind of screwed him over for that to happen the way he wanted.

"Lucy," he mumbled into her shoulder, "you know I'm not good with this sort of thing, since words are more _your_ style, but just bear with me, please. I'll try my best." He didn't continue until he felt a little shaky nod and heard her give a sound of encouragement.

Breathing deeply, he brought his head up to look her in the eye. "You are one of my-no, _the most_ precious person to me. You are so amazingly strong, and stuff. Like, all that crap with your dad and your loyalty to your spirits, which is a totally cool magic, by the way. Anyway, you're super kind, too. And your smile, _man_ , what I would give to see you smile every day of my life. And your laugh is really pretty and I like hearing you laugh. I like making you laugh even more, though. You're so weird, but I like that about you because it's you and you're just-I can't- AUGH!" He yelled in frustration, throwing his hands in the air and turning away from her to hide his blush. Sure, he could go up against some super-powerful wizard that could kill him with a snap of their fingers, but he couldn't tell this one girl he-

Natsu froze when he heard her giggling. Turning back to face her, he saw tears trailing down Lucy's face, a silly grin on her face as her frame shook with laughter. "What," he complained, "I told you I'm not good at this, and you're still laughing at me? Jeez, Luce, have a heart-mmph!" He was cut off when she pulled him by his shirt to bring his lips to hers, cutting off his protest. She was still smiling, and he could taste her happy tears. He couldn't have felt more complete in his life.

Keeping her hands in his shirt, Lucy pulled back, too soon for his liking, smiling as wide as she could and wiping away her tears with one hand. "I love you, too, you big, pink weirdo. And you don't need fancy words to say it back."

Staring down at the beautiful blonde in his front of him, blushing and grinning at his reaction, he decided he was wrong earlier. _Now_ he couldn't have felt more complete in his life. He put his arms around her waist and brought her closer, pulling her in for their first _proper_ kiss. And, as both would recount later, they wouldn't have had it happen any other way.


End file.
